First Georgia State now ODU, wouldn't be surprised if VCU and George Mason bolt soon too. If that's the case the league is essentially over though they did sign a large contract with I believe NBC. It caused them to get kicked out of espn's bracketbusters

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...y/18923863

I trust Noland to get it right.

Thats 2 openings in the Sun Belt as well.

I'd love to be in the CAA, I'm not sure if we can get in at this moment, but I'd love to. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Ga Southern, App State or even C of C jump for the openings at the CAA or Sun Belt, which would leave openings in the Socon of course.

Well, ODU/Charlotte are gone to C-USA. Texas State/UTSA will be announced for the Sun Belt today. Most likely, George Mason and VCU are bolting for the A-10 if they haven't done so already. The CAA stands to lose two football schools, so they'll have to replace them with football schools. Most of you won't want to hear this, but LIBERTY will be above ETSU in the pecking order on this one. Better facilities, more money and football. It also doesn't hurt that they're in Virginia.
Not to mention, App/Ga. Southern are hanging in the balance on moving up either to the MAC or Sun Belt, which could potentially open two slots in the Southern Conference. Again though, that's two football openings, they would need to find two football schools (Coastal Carolina, Gardner Webb, Kennesaw?) and two non-football schools just to add strength in numbers. We might then be a candidate there.
One can hope he can work some sort of magic, the optimist says he will. The realist says it just isn't possible because ETSU won't meet the needs of those conferences that have openings.

VCU's AD recommended staying in the CAA for another year. I haven't read/heard anything definite on George Mason yet. Either way, there are openings in the CAA, and I think those openings will go to Georgia Southern and App State. The CAA is the top football conference in FCS (probably the top basketball conference, too), they aren't going to get left behind in all of this.

That opens up a berth for us in the SoCon if we want to take it, and I see no reason why we wouldn't.

alot of things need to fall our way to get in without a commitment to football. this was the first step. keep watching the movement, each time one leaves, one opens up.

I'm hearing Georgia Southern is set to head to the Sun Belt very soon. I've always thought CofC would be a good fit for the CAA. And would the A10 take Davidson to keep the Charlotte market in play after UNC-Charlotte leaves?

(05-02-2012 01:41 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  I'm hearing Georgia Southern is set to head to the Sun Belt very soon. I've always thought CofC would be a good fit for the CAA. And would the A10 take Davidson to keep the Charlotte market in play after UNC-Charlotte leaves?

butler to the a10...

VCU is supposedly on hold since they don't have an athletic director, with his departure to Minnesota. Speculation is that George Mason won't leave without them. It's most likely they end up in the A10. Charlotte turned down the Sun Belt to get into CUSA, so it makes sense that Georgia Southern could get in the Sun Belt.

(05-02-2012 10:16 AM)slappywhite Wrote:  alot of things need to fall our way to get in without a commitment to football. this was the first step. keep watching the movement, each time one leaves, one opens up.

A key argument on here for a long time by many as to why football SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN DROPPED! We've already paid one big price by being booted from the Southern Conference. Now we might pay an even bigger price because of that knuckleheaded, dumb-a-- move.

(05-02-2012 01:41 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  I'm hearing Georgia Southern is set to head to the Sun Belt very soon. I've always thought CofC would be a good fit for the CAA. And would the A10 take Davidson to keep the Charlotte market in play after UNC-Charlotte leaves?

No. The A-10 isn't interested in Davidson. Great team. But not gonna happen.

The A-10 will look at Davidson just as soon as they become a Catholic school. Same with ETSU.

How do you make ETSU a Catholic school? Three words- BARBECUE COMMUNION WAFERS!!!!!!!!

Betcha can't eat just one!























































































If you can decipher what 1974 comedy album that's taken from, you get three reputation points from me.

That said, the CAA is realistically the best conference ETSU could hope to join directly to, if they wish to do so.

I say this for a variety of reasons- location, size of schools, the type of schools they are, size and needs of the conference. Another thing is who has spaces to fill and, what I thought was intriguing, how they would be willing to adopt a school with a relatively new football program. I honestly think that the CAA would be willing to accept ETSU with the promise of reinstating football in the near future, while I could honestly see the SoCon take Coastal Carolina or someone like that ahead of ETSU because their football program is more established.

I think we look a little too much at the future of ETSU athletics being guided by Brian Noland and not enough at it being guided, at least for now, by David Mullins and in the future to whoever the AD may be. Because ultimately it's their department.

I also think a lot of people see Noland as a white knight in shining armor automatically, and that has yet to be determined.

But Brian Noland being from the DC area can't hurt if they were going to join the CAA. And Noland did mention lacrosse in his interview with Kelly Hodge, a sport that the CAA sponsors.

Ask me, and I'd much rather be in the CAA than the SoCon. You can make the Final Four out of the CAA.

(05-02-2012 01:41 PM)ETSUfan1 Wrote:  I'm hearing Georgia Southern is set to head to the Sun Belt very soon. I've always thought CofC would be a good fit for the CAA. And would the A10 take Davidson to keep the Charlotte market in play after UNC-Charlotte leaves?

I would be very, VERY shocked if the A10 invited Davidson. If they can't get VCU and George Mason, I think they'd just roll with 13 teams (plus Butler, minus Charlotte and Temple) and a 24-game conference schedule.

This is from WAVY TV 10 in Portsmouth VA

No move for ODU, yet

Officials decline comment

Updated: Thursday, 03 May 2012, 9:23 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 03 May 2012, 9:22 PM EDT



After days of number crunching, talking with donors, and politicking, Old Dominion athletic officials have not been able to convince president John Broderick to pull the trigger and move his athletic program out of the CAA and into Conference USA.

Old Dominion officials have never publicaly acknowledged that they were even invited to make the switch.

But moving their football program up to FBS was an exciting prospect.

Money is probably the biggest stumbling block, it would cost ODU an additional four plus million dollars a year to move up in football.

That may have involved an increase in the student activity fee now over 92 dollars per credit hour, something Broderick probably wouldn't sign off on without the approval of the University's board.

Has Conference USA given ODU more time to try and make it work?

We don't know, all we know is, there is no indication the Monarchs will be celebrating with five other schools when USA announces their expansion plans tomorrow.

If ODU doesn't do it, James Madison will. C-USA needs one more eastern based team to give East Carolina/Marshall and now Charlotte the travel relief they need.
This will make ya'll puke too, but it could be MT that moves over there.

IF IF IF-

Football hadn't of been dropped.

IF IF IF-

Instead of a softball, soccer field (which would have been irrelevant because ETSU would not have had to have started a men's soccer program if they hadn't of dropped football), and half-constructed baseball field and instead have built a new arena with the money used for those facilities

IF IF IF-

Not a new arena, then a refurbished Dome that had full capacity (12,000)

Would ETSU be looking at being one of the teams invited into C-USA today?

They might have to build a new yard for football to get such an invite due to the rule necessitating 15,000 fans a year attendance for Division I-A (or FBS, or whatever they call it now).

Fine.

IF IF IF

ETSU and Science Hill could have worked together in this scenario to build an outdoor football stadium with 20,000 seats or so that could be used alternatively for other sports (soccer if needed to add the program to go C-USA, possibly baseball, etc.) . . . . .

(05-04-2012 07:54 AM)Buccaneerlover Wrote:  If ODU doesn't do it, James Madison will. C-USA needs one more eastern based team to give East Carolina/Marshall and now Charlotte the travel relief they need.
This will make ya'll puke too, but it could be MT that moves over there.

As we get left further and further and further behind in the dust.....

1) A new AD and new direction ASAP Dr. Noland!

UT-Arlington to the Sun Belt

Even without football.....yet.